◊ THE CLASS: Spin & Strength ◊
WHAT YOU NEED
Socks
Water bottle
Form-fitting bottoms, though we recommend padded shorts if you have a sensitive bum.
Shoes (running shoes are preferred over clip-ins for this class)
A good attitude!
synposis
*UPDATE* Spinunity has permanently closed their doors. We wish them all the best on their next journey. (July 2020)
Spinunity is a bit out of the way, Sherwood Park being a community outside of Edmonton, but the class 100% proved to be worth the journey. Spin is quickly becoming one of my favourite workouts, mostly because no matter how much I hate my life during class (did it even happen if you can’t taste blood in your mouth?!) when I’m done – I feel SO GOOD. Spin classes are always high sweat and high energy, but I was intrigued by the sound of Spin & Strength. It’s a class that combines the universal spin class with a session of strength training targeting your whole body both on and off the bike. I happened to take a class led by the studio owner, Jordan Law, who took us through exactly that. For a full hour, Jordan had us on our bikes, off our bikes, planking, squatting, mountain climbing, and rope throwing. Get ready for a spin class like you’ve never done.
LOCATION
208 Sioux RD, Sherwood Park, AB
This one is definitely a bit out of the way. Located in Sherwood Park which is about a 20 minute drive east of downtown Edmonton, it’s a fab location for Sherwood locals, but for anyone else, it’s more of a destination you need to seek out just for the class. Plus there isn’t a lot of options to get here for public transport users. All that said, it is an amazing community connector for any Sherwood Park fitness buffs. The group fitness options in Sherwood Park aren’t what we’re used to in Edmonton’s core, and the closeness of the community that attends classes at Spinunity is evident from the minute you walk in the door. There were conversations happening everywhere, and the people were open and ready to share their spin experience with you. Considering driving is the best way to get to this studio, there is ample FREE parking around Spinunity so don’t worry about not being able to find a spot.
CLASS SCHEDULE + PRICE
This, my friends, is a studio that is diversified in what they’re offering. They’re not just offering straight up, uncomplicated spin. You’ll find interesting combinations like Spin & Yoga, Spin & Strength, and Spin Fusion – all classes that will bring in more elements to the class to round out the workout and keep your body guessing. Classes are either 60 minutes or 75 minutes long and start as early as 6am during the week, with the last class between 6:30 and 8:00pm. On weekends, classes don’t start until 9am. In general, there are about five classes offered a day, catering mainly to the 8-5 crowd. This means you’ll be able to find a class that suits you before work, at lunch, or after work – 2:00pm classes are a rarity. Something super relevant to us, as Fit-City is an expanding team and babies are coming on-board, is that Spinunity offers Child Minding classes from 9:30-10:30am on weekdays. Wooooot. All riders need to sign-up online to reserve a bike prior to class, and it’s recommended to arrive at least 15 minutes prior to class to give you time to properly set-up.
As far as class prices go, this is the lowest drop-in rate we’ve seen YET for spin classes. Woooot. Full pineapple! Memberships are worth investing in, even if you’re only able to attend class twice a week as that drops per class rates to ~$12 with a contract. Child minding isn’t free unfortunately and is the same pricing structure as classes.
- Drop-in: $18
- New Riders: $29 + GST (4 Class – 30 day expiry) OR 1 month Unlimited: $60
- 5 Class Pass: $90 ($18 per class)
- 10 Class Pass: $160 ($16 per class)
- 20 Class Pass: $280 ($14 per class)
- Month-to-Month plan (no contract):1 Month Unlimited Membership: $149
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- 2x Sessions per week: $109
- Monthly Membership (contract):1 Month Unlimited Membership: $129
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- 2x Sessions per week: $99
- Annual Unlimited Membership: $1250
Since this is our second review using our Fitset pass, we thought we’d tangent for a hot minute about how it’s been working. We’ve been using the Fitset App to book our classes, and we have to admit that it’s made everything SO EASY. Especially considering how many times we’ve had to cancel and reschedule classes in the past few weeks due to run training and corresponding body breakdowns. The app clearly displays the various classes for all studios involved in the program, and you manage your bookings (cancel, change, etc.) from there. We were a little cautious of this app at first, because it’s terrifying making 5-10 bookings at 5-10 different studios in a month, but it felt pretty damn good to be so organised.
VIBE
Spinunity’s studio is fresh, well-kept, and really well laid out. The lobby has plenty of open space for riders to hang out, with a great sized waiting area and juice bar/kitchen thingy (we aren’t sure) for people to congregate around. The design aesthetic is rather trendy with tons of raw materials, an open ceiling in the cycle room and tin ceiling in the lobby area – which we now need in our lives. One rando thing that caught our eye was a fishbowl full of gum. A fishbowl. Full of gum. Not sure why this is so exciting, but it is. It’s. So. Thoughtful. Past the gum bowl, there’s a long hallway, at the end of which is the #huge cycle room. Before the cycle room is a small bathroom which caters to the child minding classes, and both change rooms are accessible from the hallway. The change rooms offer a TON of space to remake yourself into a human again after class. The men’s room has 3 showers and was surprisingly well stocked in the way of extras for a men’s room. Side note: The gents are NOT used to this treatment, and we like it. The ladies room has three showers, three bathroom stalls, and all the additional toiletries you could ask for, including flat irons. Both change rooms are prepped with lockable lockers, so no worries on bringing your own locks. The cycle studio is chalk full of bad-assery. Set in a dark room with a huge garage door at the back, there’s a wicked ‘Spin’ mural that gives us all best Fresh Prince vibes, blue and red lights, a stage for the instructor, and a ton of sweaty people.
As mentioned earlier, this place oozes community. There were people chatting everywhere, before and after class and milling about. The crowd for our class was mainly female, with only two men in attendance. There was a huge range of ages, body types, and fitness levels, and everyone had team spirit – which we LOVE. The studio has a capacity of about 50 riders and our class was half full. One thing that we really enjoyed about the class composition and overall vibe, was that people were totally cool with chatting before class and actually getting to know each other. Before the class started, two experienced riders helped a newbie set up her bike – kudos, ladies.
AMENITIES
- Men’s and women’s change rooms, 3 showers in each
- Shoes for rent (although not a requirement and you can wear your regular runners). Bikes are equipped with SPD compatible pedals
- Filtered water
- Lockers with keys (no need to bring a lock)
- Towels for the bike and bath towels in the change rooms
- Blow-dryer, straightener, hair-ties, body wash, shampoo – all the things, really.
- Earplugs if the music gets outta control
- Cold lemongrass towels at the end of class – our fav
- Smoothie bar
- Child minding for select classes
- A retail boutique including tons of workout gear
INSTRUCTOR
The staff at Spinunity are super helpful and welcoming. The process of checking in was smooth and friendly, and we had no problems getting settled onto our bike with the help of the instructor. Before the class started, the instructor walked around the room and introduced herself to anyone she didn’t know which was a nice personal touch. If you’ve always wanted to try a spin class, but don’t know where to go – we would definitely recommend Spinunity for first timers. They’ll spend as much time as you need to set you up for your first dance with the devil. Spinunity has 17 instructors on their roster, and each one will definitely bring something different to the table for you.
Jordan Law
Jordan’s love for this place is so clear. She’s the type of personality that immediately captivates you when she starts teaching. We were impressed with how smoothly she managed to explain everything that we’d be doing during class, and you guys, we were doing a LOT of things. ALL the things, really. The music ranged from EDM to remixes of top 40 pop. There were a few times that songs came on that didn’t match the vibe of the class, and Jordan had no issue changing it 20 seconds in if it wasn’t working for us. We liked that, mostly because we’re obsessive when it comes to our workout music. Jordan’s ethos is that “whatever you bring to class that day, you are doing it amazingly”. Her goal is for you to leave the studio pumped for the rest of your day and feeling balanced.
Jordan and her husband, Jeff, opened the doors of Spinunity in March 2014, with a goal of creating a welcoming environment to group fitness. After experiencing many of the standard gym’s we’ve all seen; fluorescent lighting and cold disconnected atmosphere, they wanted to create a space that would be different for the Sherwood Park community. Up until recently, running the studio was a side hustle for this hard working couple, but now they’re both full timers in the fitness scene, and have proved that if you put your mind to creating something, you can, and will, create it.
LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY
WAY HARD | HARD | MIDDLE OF THE ROADSIES | CHILL | HELLA CHILL
We’ll be honest, we had no idea what to expect when we walked into the cycle studio for this class. We knew we weren’t gonna get our standard spin class, but beyond that? Nada. We started with a ten minute warm up, and then the real fun began. Jordan set up six stations around the outside walls of the cycle room, each with two exercises. Jordan went to each station to explain what moves we’d be performing and, honestly, it was a lot to take in right away, and we definitely lost track of what we were supposed to be doing where. We’ll circle back to that.
Jordan split the group into two, with half staying on the bikes, and the other half heading to stations around the outside walls. With two people at each station, we had the opportunity to meet someone new, or workout with our usual buddy. We really loved this element of the class because getting to know the people in our community is our favourite part of the day (shout out to our new friend, Colleen, who kept reminding us what exercise we were supposed to be doing at each station). From here, the class took turns rotating from the bikes to the stations, spending a total of a minute and twenty seconds at each exercise, then 3 minutes on the bike, until all six stations were complete. Holy hell.
We’re rating this class Middle of the Roadsies, because most of the work is up to you and it’s in your hands if you want to push it to a Way Hard level of difficulty or back it off to a Chill. One slight knock is because the room is so large, you can’t necessarily see the instructor when they’re explaining the stations, so it can be tough to pick up on instructions. While this class was definitely challenging for us and left us nice and sweaty, we do think it would be an incredible class for beginners, or for people who have varying levels of fitness. You have the freedom to set your own pace, tension, intensity, number of squats or sit-ups in the stations – literally all the things are up to you and what you’re comfortable with. This class is in your hands, and if you’re there, you’re already winning.
To try this class or anything else on their schedule, see Spinunity’s contact info below.
Web: www.SPINUNITY.ca PHONE: Sherwood Park: 780.400.9228 Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
